August 15, 2015

Alaska Inside Passage & Cruise, August 2015 Part 4 - Glacier Bay

We had our alarm set early - for 5:30am. We wanted to get an early morning peek at Glacier Bay. But when we woke we looked outside and it was misty and overcast. We did get up around 6am and made our way to our favorite spot - the Great Outdoors. It was chilly so we layered up. Because it was chilly we did end up having breakfast inside, and then made our way to the Spinnaker lounge to get some warm views of Glacier Bay.

Our ship had entered Glacier Bay around 5:30am, and had picked up some of the park rangers who had set up in the Spinnaker Lounge. The Spinnaker lounge acted as the Ranger Visitor Center for the duration of our visit in Glacier Bay. The ship did not dock anywhere in Glacier Bay. We found a spot in the Lounge, close to one of the windows and waited for us to get close to our first glacier - Margerie Glacier.

It was quite misty, and rainy, and a little cold out on deck.

This smaller ship gives a good sense of scale.

Our plan was to use the Spinnaker lounge as our inside staging area - to keep dry and to warm up on hot chocolate and pastries. During our ship's stay in Glacier Bay, one of the rangers ran an unintentionally funny commentary about what we were seeing. He was prone to some purple prose and over dramatic commentary. It was quite amusing.

Once we got close to Margerie Glacier we put on all our layers and went on out to the sundeck. I was glad for my layers - as well as a warm hat.

While I did find the weather chilly we were not disappointed with the misty atmospheric light. I would rather have that that bright sunlight.

Seeing these glaciers were incredibly moving. Most were in retreat. I wonder if we will ever see glaciers advancing? Who can really know for sure?

The ship turned slowly turning a full 360 degrees. We had great views. We went to another glacier - it was quite blue. We saw the John Hopkins glacier from a distance. Margerie Glacier was calving - it was an amazing sound - like a low thundering rumble.